The total armor points worn by a hero and the hero's
weapon are the main components in defense rating. Weapons
are described in the brawling chapter.
There are 14 armor locations: left hand (LH), right hand
(RH), left shoulder (LS), right shoulder (RS), head (H),
left terso (LT), right torso (RT), waist (W), left leg (LL),
right leg (RL), feet (F), and shield (S).
The picture above, (vaguely depicting a human in armor), is
used to keep track of armor location. Locations separated by
"." and ":" are considered next to each other. This picture
is also on the hero log sheet. Each location can have 1
armor type on it. Partial armor values can only add to the
total if next to other armor.

Table 6 Armor rating

Armor type

value

spread

weight

cost

soft leather

.1

.1

1

2s

hard leather

.5

0

1

5s

chain

.5

.1

2

1g

plate

1

0

2

1g

Spread adds to the armor if it's next to other armor,
multiply spread by the number of adjacent locations.
Shields do not spread, but do count as a location for
purposes of spread.
Higher qualities of armor can up to double the point value
of the location; for each 1/2 point, double the cost.
Shields can be used as weapons or armor, but not both in
the same attack.
For a standard, (round), shield; limit and defense = the
physique of the user, up to the armor rating of the
shield.
The weight of a shield = its armor rating.
Special shields, (bucklers, legionnaire), may have higher or
lower limit and defense, the weight per armor rating rarely
varies, (mithril).
Normal shields cost 2 times armor rating silver coins.